Fatal Crash On I-97 Now Investigated As Hit And Run

MILLERSVILLE, Md. (WUSA) -- A crash involving an overturned box truck on I-97 left one person dead and another person in critical condition at a Baltimore hospital on Tuesday morning. Police are calling the crash a hit and run.

Captain Michael Pfaltzgraff, spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, says rescue crews were called to the scene of the crash in the southbound lanes of I-97 at Benfield Boulevard around 3:15 Tuesday morning. Maryland State Police say the driver and the passenger were ejected from the truck into the southbound lanes. State police say the passenger was standing up in either the left of center lane and then was struck by a southbound vehicle that did not stop. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities do not have a description of that vehicle but are asking anyone who witnessed the crash or who was in the area between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. to call state police at 410-761-5130.

According to Captain Pfaltzgraff, the driver, a 31-year-old man, was taken to Baltimore Shock Trauma with life-threatening injuries. He is undergoing treatment.

Maryland State Police are investigating the crash. At this time, it appears the truck was traveling northbound when for some reason it entered the median, hit a guardrail and then overturned.